Patient video cases in large-group medical student teaching: A qualitative study of learner and educator perspectives

Patient video cases (PVCs) are short video recordings of real patients during clinical encounters or instructed activities. Although widely used in healthcare professionals' education, their use in large group teaching (LGT) remains relatively unexplored. This study aims to explore the perceptions of medical students and academic staff regarding the use of PVCs to support LGT.

A purposive sample of medical students and academic staff from Leicester Medical School was obtained. Data were collected through focus groups (students) and semi-structured interviews (staff) in which two sensitising PVCs were used as a stimulus to discussion. Data analysis was undertaken using grounded theory through a process of open, axial, and selective coding, leading to core categories and themes.

Sixteen medical students and four academic staff members participated. Four overarching themes were identified covering the benefits of using PVCs, ways in which they are used in LGT, the challenges faced by and how to optimise PVCs for LGT. This final theme covered design, choice of clip and how it is then used by the educator within the teaching session. Key considerations were the need to align the PVC with other content and to consider the student experience.

Our findings support the use of well-chosen and well-designed PVCs within LGT and offer practical insights to use them effectively. PVCs are a potentially powerful tool within medical undergraduate LGT (a widely used instructional method) and further research into its use is needed.